I deal with many electronic drum complaints and fixes in my business Bangkok Drum. I find that many users find lots of fault with their edrums, but are not sure how to fix their issues. The goal of this short post is to provide some simple help for some of the most common complaints I hear on a daily basis in my shop. All guidance is provided with general edrummers in mind and offered with the best of intentions!
Common Electronic Drum Complaints and Fixes:
I bought a cheap edrum set based on cost. I am not happy with it. Will upgrading to a Roland kit (or Yamaha or Ef Note or ATV…) provide me with better results?
Yes, for sure. Price point kits are mostly garbage. They perform poorly and do not last. They have no resale value. Buy quality and you will be much happier. I routinely tell potential customers NEVER to buy based on price alone, but instead, by actual VALUE. Furthermore, I tell most customers to skip over entry level kits, since these are feature poor and only serve the purpose of upselling the customer to a pricier model based on immediate or eventual dissatisfaction.
I do not like using a separate cymbal and hi hat pedal. It feels weird to me compared to an acoustic hi-hat. Is a real hi hat on a stand worth the investment?
Definitely. A real hi hat like a VH-10, VH-11, VH-13 or VH-14D makes your drumming experience much more realistic and allows you to easily transition back and forth to an acoustic kit. It is important to know also that the settings for your hi-hat will be very important for a realistic playing experience. Therefore, read your manual and make sure to set everything optimally for best results. I see TONS of posts on various drum groups about poorly performing hi-hats on various models. I have set up literally thousands of kits and NEVER had this experience. I can only assume that these people are doing something wrong, such as NEVER reading their manual or making the correct adjustments.
My cymbals are too loud on the bow and not explosive enough on the edge. I hate the way they play!
This is a universal problem with electronic drum cymbals. I recommend setting the edge zone gain )rim gain) at 1.0 for all crashes, rides, splashes and china cymbals. Most modules have them set to .8 as a default. Why would an explosive edge crash have less volume than a bow hit? Duh…. manufacturers!
My neighbors complain about kick drum noise and vibration disturbing them.
Sure, it happens, especially with lighter grade residential construction. I recommend Roland KT-10 pedals as a simple solution. This is why I named this kick the best electronic kick drum in the industry. They are self contained, have built-in noise dampening and vibration insulation. Better still, they can be linked to provide double bass drum capability with only 1 trigger input on your module. They will work with every brand of Edrums. If you do not like this solution, then you can invest in a tennis ball platform or various similar (and OVERPRICED!!!) noise insulation devices. There are many tutorials available on constructing these platforms. Personally, I use 2 layers of puzzle mats and a thick rug over it to insulate all of my kits cheaply and easily.
I have center mounted triggers. They cause bad hotspots! What can I do?
The best solution is to switch to newer style 3 cone trigger pads. These will not noticeably hotspot at all. Second best solution is to settle for side mounted triggers to eliminate hotspots where you are more likely to hit the drum. If these options do not work for you, then try changing your trigger setting to LOG1 instead of LINEAR. This will cause you to lose some degree of low volume dynamics (not noticeable at all if playing metal, rock or most pop), but will also help equalize the volume of the softer hits away from the trigger cone to the hits that hotspot over the cone. Not the best solution, but it works very well on some modules!
My triggers pick up all my low volume hits, like ghost notes, but these hits are not loud enough to be heard in the mix. Additionally, I have to hit so hard in order to get the most powerful and punchy samples to trigger in my module.
Edrums can be very dynamic and sensitive. However, the vast majority of players do not use their full dynamic range when playing. Therefore, their lighter hits get lost in the mix. Similarly, there is no need to hit so hard just to get a more consistently powerful range of samples for metal, rock and pop music. One fix will solve both issues simultaneously: Set your triggers to LOG1 for an easy fix. You can do this with all your triggers, or just some. I often recommend this setting for the snare and kick drum on virtually all sets. To compensate, be sure to lower all of your threshold settings to the lowest level possible without false triggering. On Roland sets, I typically set all thresholds to 1. Check out my guidance on electronic drum settings for additional help.
My edrums sound a bit weak. I can not play too loud, because I want to keep my practice quiet. Is there an easy fix?
Yes, for sure! The sound is weak because without hard hits, you are not getting the most powerful samples out of the module. Simply increase the sensitivity of your triggers to match your playing style. If you tend to hit light to moderate in force to minimize noise, then set your triggers +1.0 to +2.5 decibels higher in sensitivity to make them work for you. Some triggers can be set even higher (Like KT-10 kick pedals). I can play very lightly, but still get huge sounds with the right trigger settings! Playing lighter will also help preserve your drums from unnecessary wear and tear. Playing lighter will minimize injury to your body. There is simply no need to pound on your edrums if you do not need to. Finesse goes a long way. Remember, you do not have to equate force to volume and projection on edrums like you would on traditional acoustic drums.
I do not like my Roland edrum sounds. They do not sound good to me. How can I fix this problem?
Easy! If you like hard rock, metal, rock and pop, then my Thunder Custom Kits will provide you the very best acoustic style drum sounds for recording, gigging and practice applications. I have Thunder Custom Kits available for TD17, TD27 and TD50X Roland modules. If you have different musical tastes or a different module, then you might want to try other vendors who make custom kits or possibly consider using a computer-based VST to get the sounds you want from your kit.
